AARIF GOHAR SALARZAI, AND SYED MUNIR AHMAD
DOI: https://doi.org/Outcome-based education (OBE) is well established in Pakistani higher education, but little is known about how it operates in preschools. This study used a descriptive, cross-sectional documentary design, nested within a qualitative single-case study, to examine the routine skill-evaluation records of a private preschool in Peshawar. Class teachers had rated 364 children in 16 classes across three year-groups (Play Group, Nursery, and Preparatory) on a four-point ordinal scale (A+ to C, coded 4 to 1). Ratings were averaged into composite scores and summarized with means, grade distributions, and class-level comparisons; Kruskal–Wallis and one-way ANOVA tests, with class as the unit of analysis, were used for an exploratory comparison of year-groups. Mean attainment was similar in Play Group (M = 3.02) and Nursery (M = 3.03) and lower in Preparatory (M = 2.76), although the class-level difference was not statistically significant, H(2) = 2.21, p = .331. Within Nursery, Writing was the weakest domain (M = 2.72) and Gross Motor Skills the strongest (M = 3.26). Differences between classes of the same year-group were largest in Preparatory (range = 1.15 points). The patterns are interpreted through Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development. We suggest a shared moderation rubric for teacher ratings, structured writing instruction in Nursery and Preparatory, peer observation between higher- and lower-scoring classes, and child-level record keeping that allows the same children to be followed over time.
